Do You Microwave Your Corn Flakes?

I was doing my typical internet read-through this morning when I saw a tweet that made me pause: “Just saw a woman in the office kitchen microwave a bowl of cornflakes. Intriguing! Can anyone shed light on this practice?” The response, as with literally anything on Twitter, was full of strong opinions: “Hell no,” wrote a grossed-out @jackietgregory. “Oh my god it’s the best,” responded @AineMcD. And a few people piped up with some reasonable explanations about why you might stick your cold cereal in the microwave: “Cold milk can be off putting if you grew up with ‘breakfast=hot’ rubric. Microwave is fastest way to fit cereal into this model,” tweeted @ThatNitin. And @JessJoyCej wrote that her mom used to do this for her growing up, when they ran out of oatmeal and wanted “a soft textured hot breakfast.”

The internet is full of wonders, but also full of lies, so we had to get down to brass tacks: is this an actual thing that people do, aside from that one coworker? While some people seem to think of microwaving your cold cereal as a stoner-only snack, plenty of other people fully endorse the practice, especially for cold mornings. While most people stick the whole bowl in the microwave, some suggest heating the milk separately, and one person even said she zaps the cereal separately for “a nice roasted flavor.” You do you.

It isn’t so crazy, when you think about it: hot cereals are grain-based just like cold ones, albeit often less processed than your typical Cheerios or Raisin Bran. Sticking cold cereal and cold milk in the microwave isn’t all that different from nuking a mug of Quaker Oats. While I’ll probably be sticking to my cold cereal—what can I say? I like the crunch!—I will admit that I get the appeal of a cozy bowl of cornflakes.

Just saw a woman in the office kitchen microwave a bowl of cornflakes. Intriguing! Can anyone shed light on this practice?